NCAA Tournament droughts

TCU showed a lot of promise in Jamie Dixon's first season. The Horned Frogs are still looking to get in the Big Dance for the first time since 1998.

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Rice: 1940 last appearance

Rice has a couple of wins in the NCAA tournament, but that was 60 years ago. The Owls were once a championship basketball program in the old Southwest Conference in the first half of the 20th century. Their last NCAA tournament appearance came in 1970, and their last win was in 1954. Rice has an elite baseball program and its football team has come back to life. So maybe there's hope basketball will be back again.

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Northern Illinois: 1996 last appearance

The Illini must be taking all the top basketball talent in Illinois because there are two prominent schools in the state that have yet to notch a win in the NCAA tournament with NIU being one of them. The Huskies were knocked out in the first round in each of their three appearances in 1982, 1991, and 1996.

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East Carolina: 1993 last appearance

It hasn't been all bad in March for East Carolina. The Pirates were crowned 2013 CIT champions -- a postseason tournament that selects teams that didn't get an invite to the NCAA or NIT. ECU has danced in the big one just twice in program history, and were knocked out both times in the first round. The Pirates' last trip was a 20-point loss in 1993 to eventual national champion North Carolina.

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Marshall: 1987 last appearance

Before Billy Donovan turned Florida into a national power, he got his head coaching start at Marshall. During his short time in Huntington from 1994-96, the Thundering Herd failed to make the NCAA tournament. Marshall's last appearance was in 1987, and it has yet to get a win in five trips to the big dance.

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FIU: 1995 last appearance

Not even some big-name coaches could get Florida International celebrating in March. The Panthers have just one appearance in program history -- a 1995 first-round loss to UCLA. Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion Isiah Thomas took the FIU head coaching job in 2009, but he never had a winning record and was fired after just three seasons.

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Army: Never in NCAA Tournament

How is it possible that a basketball program with a history that includes legendary coaches Bob Knight and Mike Krzyzewski has never made the NCAA tournament? 'The General' started his college coaching career at Army where a young Coach K played guard for him from 1966-69. Knight became the NCAA Division I men's all-time wins leader in 2007, and Krzyzewski now currently holds that title. Both have won championships and made deep runs in the NCAA tournament thoughout their respective careers, but never with the Black Knights.

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TCU: 1998 last appearance

TCU has struggled since the Southwest Conference broke apart. That continued when the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 in 2013, but new head coach Jamie Dixon has the program competitive again.